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Author
Topic: Starting Meds tonight (Read 2942 times)

This is my first time posting here. I've been reading the posts and they have been very helpful. Thank you all. I am somehow nervous. Tonight I will start Atripla. I put it off until I thought I was ready to begin. My doctor recommended me to start on HAART since couple of months ago, but I took my time to finally decide I was ready. It freaks me out the fact that I will have to depend on meds for life, but I hope that I will adjust to this pretty quickly. My numbers are not too bad, but doc says that starting when my CD4s are high will be better for me in the long term. I also see it as another way of protecting my negative partner from seroconversion. Anyhow, I am glad to be here in this forum with you guys and I hope to post more later about how Atripla is working on me.

All the best for a great response. I have no doubt you'll see results very quickly. Be sure to let us know how you're doing. I often wonder what my numbers looked like in the time during infection and diagnosis.

Off topic-- I seems like several people found out they were poz around the holidays. I'm sure it breaks down evenly all over the year, but it just seems like I've noticed several diagnosed in Dec--many right around Christmas. I probably just notice the ones near Christmas than other times of the year.

All the best for a great response. I have no doubt you'll see results very quickly. Be sure to let us know how you're doing. I often wonder what my numbers looked like in the time during infection and diagnosis.

Off topic-- I seems like several people found out they were poz around the holidays. I'm sure it breaks down evenly all over the year, but it just seems like I've noticed several diagnosed in Dec--many right around Christmas. I probably just notice the ones near Christmas than other times of the year.

Anyway, glad to meet ya and keep us posted.

Yeah ... you can now imagine how crappy this past Christmas turned out to be for me. I got the call on the 23th ... worst Christmas ever.

Its good that you are going to start on the meds. I started taking Atripla in March and am doing really well at this point. The anticipation of not knowing how the body will react this causes some anxiety during the first few days. I hope your experience is as good as mine has been. Best of luck to you!

Hey V. Ice -I started Atripla back in December - the first night I had anxiety because I didn't know what to expect - but it hasn't been bad at all. You may have some vivid dreams - I still get them every now and then - Last night I had some doosies.

Most people that have other side effects (i.e. rash) find that it clears up within a couple of weeks.

Keep us informed on your progress - and feel free to ask questions and vent, sigh a breath of relief, etc. (just don't complain too much or we'll tell you off ---- just kidding )

Its good that you are going to start on the meds. I started taking Atripla in March and am doing really well at this point. The anticipation of not knowing how the body will react this causes some anxiety during the first few days. I hope your experience is as good as mine has been. Best of luck to you!

Its good that you are going to start on the meds. I started taking Atripla in March and am doing really well at this point. The anticipation of not knowing how the body will react this causes some anxiety during the first few days. I hope your experience is as good as mine has been. Best of luck to you!

Thanks man. How long did it take for you to stop feeling weird (groggy) in the morning?

I never had any morning after issues with it too much. Of course I go for the coffee as soon as I wake up and that puts me in overdrive quickly. My experience was weird dreams. My favorite was one where I won 750,000 bucks on a slot machine and they issues me a check. In the dream I kept checking my wallet to see if it was there... and it was... Of course when I woke up... no such luck. The bad dreams for me were few. I did dream that I had stolen a car and was trying to get away from the cops. The damn car would not go fast and had flat tires but I gunned it anyhow and somehow managed to get away from them. Dreamland is a strange but wonderful place most of the time.

Thanks man. How long did it take for you to stop feeling weird (groggy) in the morning?

Hey V:I saw that hope for a cure didn't have the grogginess issues --- I did and still do if I take the pill too late on a weeknight. I usually go to bed around 11 or 12 and wake up around 6 a.m. If I take it at 9 I don't have too much grogginess -- if I wait til 11 then I get pretty groggy. A couple of times I've had to call and tell my boss (who knows my status and that I'm on meds) that I need an extra hour before I go in.

So, be prepared to have to adjust the time accordingly based on your schedule and how the pill makes you feel over time. Also, if you eat before taking it some of the effects are more pronounced. I basically eat whenever I want, but I also know that it may cause me to have even more dreams or be a little more groggy as a result.

I do take mine kinda early. These days its around 9:00PM but I dont actually go to bed till later on. I just have a thing about taking pills then getting horizontal in bed. I know, its a psychological issue I have but in my mind they dont 'go down' as good. That is 'prolly' why I dont have too many issues with being groggy the next day. I will say that when I get up in the middle of the night to go take a leak, I am practically sleep walking and at first was very wobbly when making my way to the bathroom.

I do take mine kinda early. These days its around 9:00PM but I dont actually go to bed till later on. I just have a thing about taking pills then getting horizontal in bed. I know, its a psychological issue I have but in my mind they dont 'go down' as good. That is 'prolly' why I dont have too many issues with being groggy the next day. I will say that when I get up in the middle of the night to go take a leak, I am practically sleep walking and at first was very wobbly when making my way to the bathroom.

I feel you hope --- I get that wobbly feeling if I get up in the middle of the night too. Also, I had a similar dream with the running from the police and the tires blowing out. Haven't had the lottery one yet. There was something where I kept going from a boat to the land, then to the boat - was kind of wild - I would be out at sea one minute then walk out the door and was on land...

You have some relatively decent pre-med numbers there. You will do great on Atripla! Like some of the otheres my grogginess went away after a few days when I was on Atripla, matter of fact I had a surge of energy thereafter, it was fantastic.

As far as the dreams the first few days I had some emotional dreams about my deceased father, but soon I was dreaming wacky stuff such as the police opening a substation in my bathroom.

So, it's been a week since I started on Atripla, and the dizziness is fading away. I still feel a little bit awkward and have a sensation of a heavy stomach most of the time. Other than that, I am feeling fine. Now, I am keeping an eye on signs of a rash or something like that, but so far nothing. Cheers!